Trip Reports

Cast:

Me, anal 37 yr old mommy
Frank, hubby 41 yrs. goes with the flow
Anthony, 5 1/2 yr old who thinks everyone goes to Disney every year
Ma or Mom my mom & grandmother extraordinaire with very bad knees
Wata or Dad (also know as Walter) my dad & wonderful grandfather with very bad knees
Dates: Oct 28 - 31, quickie Halloween Trip staying at Residence Inn Lake Buena Vista, rented mini-van from Dollar

Day 1, Thurs, Oct. 28

Leave home at 6:00 am arrive at TF Green Airport in Rhode Island. Valet car (great service, only $3 per day more than regular parking). Check in at Southwest. Very uneventful flight...arrive 10 min early at 10:25am! Our bags are the first 4 off the plane, down to Dollar, no line - plus we signed up for Fastlane. We are in the minivan and leaving MCO by11am...this has to be some record!

We arrive at the Residence Inn at LBV and a room is ready! We have a 2 bedroom villa. Considering we've stayed in a 2 bedroom at Hilton Head there is just no comparison. But it is passable. Plus my mom works for Marriott so at $89 per nite we'll live with it. We quickly unpack and change into more Florida type clothing and off to lunch and Epcot. We have lunch at the Marriott World Center next door. Great veggie burger. Lunch is done and we're off to Epcot. As you enter the parking area the millennium 2000 Mickey Hand with Wand on Spaceship Earth is AMAZING! Can't wait to get in and Anthony's is doing his Test Track mantra.

But first things first. Mom & Dad have 4 day hoppers but me, hubby & Anthony have annual passports that must be activated.

END TO THE RUMOR: You DO NOT need to activate your voucher within 30 days of purchase. The only time anything is immediately activated is when you turn in the voucher. It used to be only activated the first time you enter a park.

TIP: If you do have an AP activate at Epcot, no lines at Guest Relation.

We enter Epcot and WOW between the granite Leave a Legacy things and the wand it is really something. I'm not too sure about the $35 for the picture though. Maybe in Feb. Well we run or hobble to Test Track and tell Ma it's just like being in a car. 50 min wait and boo hoo no Fast Pass. The waiting area that you go through is actually pretty neat. You see all facets of "crash testing" done on GM vehicles. The wait was actually a little less than 50 min. and we're finally in. After the intro movie we move to where the cars are and get in. Me, Anthony & a single in front and in the back is Mom between Wata and hubby. Well we start and for the next 5 minutes all I can hear from the back seat is "Oh no", "Stop", "Slow", etc. You get the picture. Well, we finish and we all love it except Ma...and we have the picture to prove it. My dad loved it so much he asked what time do they open in the morning! Well, from there we went to the Cooling Station, very neat...loved the watermelon soda from China. We then subjected my poor mom to Honey I Shrunk the Audience! After the mice she spent the remainder of the movie with her feet in the air. After that we walked around a bit then left for dinner at Chef Mickey's. We left the car at Epcot and took the monorail. Anthony asked to be up front and it was granted. So I sat alone in the back while everyone rode up front. I wanted my parents to experience it. We arrive at the TTC and transfer to the Contemporary Monorail. This is where our experience with the monorail is not good. Because of mechanical whatevers, it took us over an hour to get from Epcot to the Contemporary. This is the only time this has happened to us. So we are 20 min late for our PS, but they are still honored. We are not seated in the main area but to the right of the buffet. I really didn't like it over there too much. Anthony had a great time and that's what matters...oh, and I got my mashed potatoes. Dinner over we head back to the car, we're tire now.

What a site when you are on the monorail and approaching Epcot at nite with the Millennium Spaceship Earth. What a spectacular site!

We find the car and head back to the Residence Inn. This was our first time driving ourselves at WDW and all I want to say is the signs are made for those who are staying on-site and not for off-site people. Well, we make it back and guess what? The floor outside our bathroom is wet. The AC is apparently leaking. We call the front desk and they offer to move us, but we said no, Anthony was already asleep...they will send someone the next morning to fix it. Off to sleep. Nite.

Day 2, Fri. Oct. 29 or "The ants go marching one by one"

I hear Anthony around 6:15am get up to go to the bathroom as I look out of the bedroom to see if he's ok I see he is standing strangely. I go in to see what is wrong and there are ANTS everywhere on the floor and crawling out of the toilet. I get him out fast and yell to all HELP! I call the front desk and they indicate they will send someone later but for now they come and give us keys to the vacant unit next door so we can shower there. I am now itching all over just thinking about these.

Well, that done we head to breakfast. Now I know it is complimentary but pre-cooked and packaged pancakes is not my idea of a cooked breakfast. So we get some muffins and toast them, vowing not to do this breakfast thing again! You see mom & I are of the same cloth, we don't cook on vacation. That includes toasting! :-)

So we head to MGM. We get there before opening. Come through the gate and we're off to TOT (or should I say hubby, Anthony & Wata). I did it last year and shook for 10 min. and I just couldn't do it to my mom. So Mom & I sat at the park across from TOT and watched the cars go upppppp and fall downnnnnn. Finally they come off and my Dad looks like he may be losing breakfast soon. If it had one more drop it would've been over. Anthony, who vowed last year he would never go on again, had a great time. Well, hubby & I were going to try RnRC but his back was bothering him so we backed out. Off to the Great American Movie Ride. Then on to Muppet 3D, everyone loved it. Then Indiana Jones, another thumbs up all round. Finally time for lunch, we have PS at Sci Fi. Now I know the food isn't much to write home about but for anyone who lived through the Sat. afternoon Creature Double Feature it is a must. We go everytime! My parents really enjoyed it. But my Mom says she may bring a flashlight next time!

After lunch we head to Downtown Disney. Anthony is dieing to get some Lego Stuff. Me & Mom hit World of Disney. She bought me & Hubby great 2000 fleece pullovers. They should come in handy in Feb when we return. Needless to say lots of dollars were dropped even with the MKC.

Finally head back to hotel in time to sit for a bit and change for dinner and MNSSHP. Ants are gone!

Leave for 1900 Park Fare. We've eaten here. The bread pudding is WONDERFUL! Anthony loved the characters. They all acted scared since he was dressed as a Yo Ho Pirate from Pirates of the Caribbean. After dinner we board the monorail for MK and the party. As we come off the monorail there are cast members handing out trick or treat bags with candy in them! Yum.

We arrive around 6:30 and it starts at 7 but a cast member comes and checks our tickets, gives us wrist bands and says they will be opening before 7 and if you have a wrist band you can get in! So around 6:50 the gates open and we're in! Main Street looks fantastic. The colors, lights, decor! On the common in front of the Town Hall are large luminaries and bales of hay. The little side streets have little decorated areas but does Anthony want to see these NO. He just wants to get to the haunted mansion. However, since the park opened before 7 only Fantasyland is open. So we head through and there is Cinderella's Coach. It is beautiful. All along the park we come across cast members giving out candy but only if you say the magic words (trick or treat). They kept giving my dad a hard time with this!

The first thing we do is take our complimentary photo. I hope it comes out. We then go on Peter Pan's Flight then on to Small World (it's always been my mom's favorite). I asked Anthony if he wants to do the Children's Boo Parade and he doesn't so we head over to the Haunted Mansion. It really has a different feeling during the Halloween party! From there we head to Splash Mountain. My mom sits out, her knee hurts. So off we go. This party is great there are NO lines anywhere! Well we get to the "logs" and the cast member says to me and Anthony row 1 and my Dad and hubby Row 2. Now you all know what this means! Anthony and I are SOAKED! Thank god I brought a long sleeve shirt for him. So off comes the costume top on with the long sleeve and put the costume back over and voila good as new. Now to find Mom. By the time the line up for the Halloween Parade has begun. We find Mom and stake out spots but I can tell both her and Dad's knees are bothering them. So we decide to walk the parade route. By doing so we actually got the best viewing area! And when it was done we were close to the Castle and were able to get right over to Buzz Lightyear! Again basically no wait. And we're off on Buzz! What a great ride. We never went on it last year. Me, hubby & Anthony went on it and had a ball...but didn't score too well. However, I could see the guy in front of us and he was up to 600,000! From there we went out and found my parents... just as Fantasy in the Sky was starting. We happened to be walking over the Tomorrowland Bridge as the Wicked Witch went soaring overhead. It was great and we didn't even have to wait to see any of it! Well we were all tired and I could see my parents were really slowing down so we said let's go. We headed down Main Street which looked even better now that it was really dark. Got back on the Monorail to the GF in our car and back to the hotel...nite.

Day 3, Sat, Oct. 30 or "My underwear is sticking to me!"

Up and no ANTS!!!! yippee. Off to the Rainforest at AK for breakfast. No crowds but we have PS anyway. Sit down to have my coffee and wow did I spill all that...lo and behold there is a crack in my mug and the coffee is dripping down my shorts. Get new mug, go wash shorts. All set. Cooked breakfasts are huge, I had the fruit plate, excellent. Finish breakfast and we're off into the park. First stop the Safari, 25 min wait so let's try Fast Pass. It is now 9:05 and it says come back between 9:45 - 10:45. Ok, enough time to see "It's tough to be a bug!" This is one of my family's personal favorites. We get our glasses and like magic walk right in. Mom & Dad loved this. Anthony's favorite part is the stink bug, of course he's a boy. It's now about 9:35 let's head back to the Safari and see how this Fast Pass works. Well it works great. We walked by everyone in line and got right on the truck waiting. No lines, no wait. I LOVE THIS THING! We saw lots of animals, including two ostriches that wouldn't get out of the road! After the safari. We sat for a bit and Anthony had an ice cream. OK I gave in at 10am, but we're on vacation. We then head off to the Kali River Raft Ride. No wait! Now we see everyone coming off wet, but not too wet. However I should have know better when one of the guys that got on with us put his poncho on. Well, me, Mom, Dad, Hubby & Anthony went on. Very fun ride, but the best was when my poor hubby & my Mom got literally SOAKED. We couldn't stop laughing. Thank god it was hot.

So we're now off the ride, dripping as we go. So I say lets see if we can see the Lion King Show....Well, Mom says "I can't sit my underwear is sticking to me". So we leave her standing at the Tree of Life in the sun trying to dry off. We head to the Lion King. Again no wait. I also found a 4 day hopper on the ground at Camp Minnie Mickey I turned it in to a Cast Member, hope the person got it. The show is as good as last year. My Dad thought it was going to be animals but he still liked it.

Well we now head back to get soggy Mom and see if we can get lunch. We have lunch at Flame Grill (?). Not too bad. We're now very tired and I can see my parents are really slowing down, so let's head back to the hotel for some pool time. Off we go.

Sit around the pool for a time and decide let's skip the Ice Cream Social (we had magic delivery coupons) and not do the Fantasmic! Dinner Package. So I make the calls and cancel those.

Dinner now comes and we head off for a nite on the Boardwalk. Our home resort is BWV so we wanted Mom & Dad to see it. Well they love it. Dad actually likes it better than the GF. We have a wonderful dinner at Flying Fish and I finally get to experience Lava Cake. All I can say is OH MY GOD! This is my new favorite dessert. After dinner we walk the Boardwalk and wind up outside Atlantic Dance Hall. There is a DJ set up playing music and playing football with kids. Well Anthony has a ball. They then do the limbo. Play some songs and the kids dance. This was worth everything. The looks on my parents faces was priceless. I guess they are right, the little things in life are free.

While we were sitting on the Boardwalk there was a wedding reception at Jellyrolls upstairs. Who appears but Minnie & Mickey as Bride and Groom. Very cute.

Around 9 pm we decide it is time to leave and go to bed. Unfortunately we also need to pack. We tuck Anthony in and he's off nite, nite.

Day 4, Sun Oct. 31 - The All Day Halloween

We kind of try to sleep in. Finally up and packup. Head off to the Marriott for breakfast. We decide we have some time to kill so let's head to Celebration. What a cute town...but a little Stepfordy. I do love the look of the houses. Oh by the way, Anthony is in his costume all day! After Celebration we head to the Wilderness Lodge to show my parents. They like it but still like Boardwalk better. Finally it's off to the airport. Flight is on time. Southwest gives out all sorts of candy and stuff to the kids on board for Halloween. We land on time and are back home by 6:09pm for Anthony to go out trick or treating. Well that's it. Til Feb, the next WDW trip.

Cora Armenio

carmeni@banet.net

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